


Hope Forever Past

by donutsweeper



Category: Sherlock Holmes - Arthur Conan Doyle
Genre: Bleak, Character Death, Depressing, Imprisonment, Kidnapping
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-06
Updated: 2017-07-06
Packaged: 2018-11-28 10:09:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 517
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11415684
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/donutsweeper/pseuds/donutsweeper
Summary: It was far too late by the time he was discovered, but his fate and final note finally see the light of day.





	Hope Forever Past

The north wall was covered with slashes scratched into the brickwork; the oldest along the top orderly and evenly spaced but as the groupings of five continued they became smaller and closer together until they were practically indistinguishable from one another. 

The east and south walls' scratches were more random. The centermost notes were observations of the kidnappers, guesses as to the reasons he had been taken and the possible location of the manor where he was being held but as the missives emanated outward they became more random, the isolation and captivity obviously wearing on the room's occupant as time passed.

However, there were groupings amongst the chaos.

"Cases" began as a long list, starting with _A Study in Scarlet_ and _The Sign of Four_ , the first three dozen or so carefully marked one after another before partial, incomplete notations began like _Slip-Shod Elderly Woman_ and _Grey-Headed, Seedy Visitor_ as well as ramblings like _The Canary-Trainer_ and _The Yeggman_. 

"Fifth Northumberland Fusiliers" had been carved in carefully, with a few dates as well as notations on numerous countries, cities and regions and both partial and complete names of soldiers and officers clustered around it. "University of London" and "Netley" had similar collections of information around them including that of dates, classes, books and students' names.

Names also filled nearly a third of the south wall; most notably was that of Sherlock Holmes which had been scratched deeply, although its edges were smoothed and worn, as if they had been traced over, time and time again. Mary was also prominently displayed as was that of Mrs Hudson and numerous physicians and Scotland Yard Inspectors. Another section displayed quotes from scripture and literature while a large grouping near the bottom detailed the prisoner's deteriorating health. 

Each wall, as well as the floor, contain sections where the occupant had attempted escape but the bricks were thick and the entire chamber triple lined so all that effort had been expended with no hope of success. The small spigot showed signs of having been removed and examined before being replaced, but the thin piping behind it was long enough to prevent any tampering with the device that controlled the provision of his daily water ration from the large cistern outside the cell. The shelves of the now empty larder had also obviously been thoroughly, and fruitlessly, examined as had the small grating in corner that allowed for waste removal.

Even the trapdoor, high in the rafters and well out of reach, bore signs of his efforts. It was riddled with the dings and dents of being struck by the bits of brick that had been pried from elsewhere within the room, but it was all for naught. The prison had been designed to be inescapable and it was. The desiccated, emaciated corpse lay on the thin pallet, a note scratched into the flooring by his side:

_My name is Doctor John Watson._  
_If I am to die here I accept my fate_

_Upon my discovery_  
_Contact Sherlock Holmes of Baker Street, London_

_There is regret, almost remorse,_  
_For Time long past._

**Author's Note:**

> The title, as well as the last two lines of Watson's note come from Percy Bysshe Shelley's poem "Time Long Past."
> 
> Regarding the case list, both the Grey-Headed, Seedy Visitor and the Slip-Shod Elderly Woman were noted by Watson in a list of callers visiting Baker Street to see Sherlock Holmes in "A Study in Scarlet." Watson mentions the arrest of Wilson, the notorious canary-trainer, in "The Adventure of Black Peter." Holmes, when consulting his index of old cases in "The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire," happily recalled that of Vanderbilt and the Yeggman.
> 
> I doubt this is what [**watsons_woes**](https://watsons-woes.dreamwidth.org/) envisioned by their "Note to Self" prompt. Sorry?


End file.
